Category Archives: Life

With the holidays quickly approaching, wouldn’t it be nice to find something lovely and unique to wear to that Thanksgiving banquet? Or what about that Christmas party you have to go to?

Perhaps you’re a sweet guy and would like to get your lady-love something totally new that you know she will look beautiful in?

Well have I got wonderful news for you! One of my very lovely friends is an aspiring artist and has opened a clothing shop on etsy.com. There you will find beautiful and skillfully made clothing at unbeatable prices! So before you head to some department store for your holiday apparel, check out her clothing store first! ChelsyLorinClothing.

As you can very much tell from my blog, Words on the Wind, Photography is one of my passions. Recently, I have launched my new photography website, Lindsayamberphotography.com in the hopes that I can expand my photography skills and develop a career out of it.

I’m counting down the days to my wedding! My love and I have set our date and ordered our invitations. It’s funny how much closer I feel like we have grown since he placed this ring on my finger and asked the question. I feel like we are more open with each other. The time we are forced to spend apart grows more and more unbearable.

We have started pre-marital counseling and have had a blast so far. It is such a wonderful process this marriage thing. I love it and I am thankful my soon-to-be-husband and I are both enjoying it as it brings us closer together. The coming weeks will bring our engagement shoot! What fun that will be!

The other day I was thinking back to all the memories I share with my new fiancé. Joy and laughter came flooding back to my heart, along with the feeling of incredible love and a hunger to create many more equally wonderful memories. Then another thought came to me as well. It was the realization of how many “firsts” this sweet man has given me – and not doubt I will continue to be granted many more firsts through him.

Some of the firsts he has given me are:

1. My first prom experience

2. My first dance

3. The first time I ever held a boy’s hand (and wanted to)

4. The first time a guy ever told me he loves me

5. The first time I ever told a guy I love him too

6. My first kiss

7. My first time making French Macaroons

8. My first time trying Vegemite and Turkish delight

9. The first time anyone has ever read me stories

10. The first time I had ever realized I am not alive if I don’t have this young man’s love

So, so many firsts given to me by this one person, and so very many yet to come.

“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for them in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, and in purity.” 1 Timothy 4:12

Yes, my fiancé and I are nineteen years old, and this Friday evening my dearest love proposed to me after he took me on a picnic by the river. I am truly excited and ever so blessed to be engaged to the most amazing man alive. There isn’t a soul on this beautiful Earth like him. Our plan in to be married in early August.

This engagement is a huge leap of faith for us. We have done nothing but pray about it for months and months, seek advising from one of our pastors, and budget, budget, budget! The two of us also went to our parents for advice, mine who support it fully, and my love’s who are a little less excited.

So why did we decide to go ahead and get married after I finish my first year of college and right before my fiancé starts his? Because we love each other. We are ready to promise our eternal love for each other in an everlasting vow before God. We don’t want to be across the state from one another at two separate universities. We want to experience life together young. Life is too short, we want forever together.

It will be hard, yes. It will be challenging knowing there are people, and a father, who don’t support our decision to wed so young, but our love is strong and our faith in God is stronger. I can’t wait to begin this journey through life with my best friend at my side.

“Only once in your life, I truly believe, you find someone who can completely turn your world around. You tell them things that you’ve never shared with another soul and they absorb everything you say and actually want to hear more. You share hopes for the future, dreams that will never come true, goals that were never achieved and the many disappointments life has thrown at you. When something wonderful happens, you can’t wait to tell them about it, knowing they will share in your excitement. They are not embarrassed to cry with you when you are hurting or laugh with you when you make a fool of yourself. Never do they hurt your feelings or make you feel like you are not good enough, but rather they build you up and show you the things about yourself that make you special and even beautiful. There is never any pressure, jealousy or competition but only a quiet calmness when they are around. You can be yourself and not worry about what they will think of you because they love you for who you are. The things that seem insignificant to most people such as a note, song or walk become invaluable treasures kept safe in your heart to cherish forever. Memories of your childhood come back and are so clear and vivid it’s like being young again. Colours seem brighter and more brilliant. Laughter seems part of daily life where before it was infrequent or didn’t exist at all. A phone call or two during the day helps to get you through a long day’s work and always brings a smile to your face. In their presence, there’s no need for continuous conversation, but you find you’re quite content in just having them nearby. Things that never interested you before become fascinating because you know they are important to this person who is so special to you. You think of this person on every occasion and in everything you do. Simple things bring them to mind like a pale blue sky, gentle wind or even a storm cloud on the horizon. You open your heart knowing that there’s a chance it may be broken one day and in opening your heart, you experience a love and joy that you never dreamed possible. You find that being vulnerable is the only way to allow your heart to feel true pleasure that’s so real it scares you. You find strength in knowing you have a true friend and possibly a soul mate who will remain loyal to the end. Life seems completely different, exciting and worthwhile. Your only hope and security is in knowing that they are a part of your life.”
-Bob Marley

As many of you are aware, it is football season. This past Friday was not only a game night for my home town, it was homecoming. There was a young man on the football team who was more than a little nervous. This is a big game for the high school, and as a senior, he wanted to make sure he played his best.

The game begins and is intense right from the start. The two opposing teams battle it out. In one of the plays, the senior I mentioned at the beginning, was running for a touchdown before a member of the opposing team pushed him out-of-bounds. The play didn’t stop there, however. The opposing player kept on driving the young man until he had him pinned up against the fence, and still didn’t stop. The victim’s teammates went crazy! They rushed to the aid of this young man and started a scuffle that ended in the suspension of a player from each team.

When the game continued, it was fueled with the excitement of the scuffle. The hits became harder, and the blocks became stronger. Then a player went down. This player was on the opposing team, and when he fell, he went completely limp. He was carried away in an ambulance, but never moved throughout the entire process. There was a rumor going around that his neck had been broken.

The game went on, and in the end, the home team was victorious. They had won their homecoming game, and everything was great. Spectators and parents went wild and then everyone started to flee from the coming rain, all except for the senior who was run into the fence. He stopped amid the chaos to remember the player who had fallen.

I was on my way over to him when my sight of the field was momentarily obstructed as I walked under the bleachers. Suddenly I noticed the entire crowd had gone silent, even the excited announcer has stopped rambling remarks mid-sentence! I don’t know why, but I panicked and ran to get to the other side of the stands so I could see the field. This is what I saw. Off to the side a little ways, both teams were kneeling closely together, their school colors intertwined. In the center of that huddle was that senior boy. His eyes were closed, his helmet was in his hand, and he was praying with a force that would have made any non-believer fall to their knees.

I watched in amazement. Here was this senior boy who was rammed into a fence by this team, yet he was praying for the safety, health, and recovery of one of their players. He was putting everything aside to raise an injured player who wasn’t even one of his teammates up to God. He was performing the most wonderful act of kindness I had ever seen in my life. Tears started falling from my eyes as I watched this incredibly strong young man perform this delicate act of kindness. I am so blessed to be able to call that young man my boyfriend, and blessed to have been able to witness this act of kindness that changed something in my heart.

In the end, only this amazing young man knows if he played his best, but that night he showed everyone there how to be a good teammate as well as a good opponent, and how much any act of kindness can impact so many lives around you. No matter how good you play, sometimes the game is forgotten, but I know that act will not so soon be forgotten.

Sadly, I was not carrying my camera with me at that perfect moment, but I will carry this memory and the image it engraved on my heart always, and I will take that act and learn from it.

My inspiration

Side Note: The injured player did not break his neck. He luckily suffered only from mild swelling in his spinal cord at the base of his neck and is expected to make a full recovery.